One stop .......... Kings Billabong

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Just a short distance from Mildura CBD and through some of the Sunraysia vineyards we turned onto Cureton Avenue which would lead us to Psyche Bend and Kings Billabong. The access road down to the pump house needs a bloomin’ good go over with a grader, but once there the tracks meandering through the billabong camping area were quite good; lots of defined camping sites alongside the water, some too tight for caravans, but we soon found a place to stop for the night. With the campsite set up it didn’t take us long to be sitting back taking in the view; houseboats and speedboats made their way up and down the billabong enjoying the Saturday afternoon sunshine, their wakes slapping against the tall bank. Pelicans and waterfowl were conspicuous by their absence, but there were gnats aplenty and (unfortunately) they were quick in leaving their bite marks on bare legs!







Because of its proximity to two major river systems – the Murray and the Darling – Canadian visionary George Chaffey and his brother William saw Mildura as the perfect place for the first Australian irrigation colony. In order to fulfil his dream however he had to engineer the movement of water from the Murray, into Kings Billabong, before sending it then to the surrounding farmland; this was achieved in 4 lifts using massive steam pumps. Psyche Bend Pump House, built in 1891, is the oldest of its kind in the world and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The pump house and its huge engines are run and maintained by a team of volunteers – unfortunately it wasn’t open over the weekend, but that didn’t bother us unduly as we had been through it on a previous holiday.







It was yet another glorious day with the temperature hovering around 25oC – with only a couple of more days before we are home we don’t expect it to last.

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